posted by all-musicrecords
Lake, or commonly referred to as The Lake in some countries, is a German-British rock music group that formed in 1973 in Hamburg, Germany. In 1975, they were joined by lead singer James Hopkins-Harrison, who gave them their signature sound for the remainder of their recording career.
I'll readily admit that I thought 1984's "No Time for Heroes" was a pretty good return to form for Lake. Unfortunately, at least on my part, a quick look at 1985's "Voices" gave rise to concerns ... with very '80s packaging including that hideous COBOL-styled font for the liner notes, you were left with a sinking feeling that these guys had finally thrown in the creative towel and decided to pursue popular tastes at whatever costs.
Co-produced by guitarist Achim Oppermann and singer James Hopkins-Harrison (the pair were also responsible for most of the nine songs), that's pretty much what you got with this outing.
From a business and marketing standpoint I guess you couldn't really blame these guys for becoming increasingly desperate to find an audience.
Lake sales had followed a downward progression and Polydor management was clearly putting pressure on them to come up with a more commercial sound, or suffer the consequences - and who wants to be an unemployed musician in your mid-30s ?
So the bad news is this album has a very dated mid-1980s sound - lots of that busy, tinny production sound with heaps of synthesizers and way too many big ballads that were meant to attract top-40 play lists, but came off as being flat and insincere. A sure sign of growing panic, 'Alright' even found them trying out dance music.
Even worse, on tracks like the jittery new wavy 'Nervous Breakdown' and '' you were hard pressed to tell this was actually a Lake composition - numbers like 'Echo Of The Melody' could have just as easily been Hall and Oates, or even Whitesnake.
(side 1)
1.) Alright (James Hopkins-Harrison - Achim Oppermann) - 3:36
Seriously, complete with universal uplifting lyrics, bubbling synthesizers and pop bass, the opener 'Alright' found the band sticking their collective toes into dance music territory ... Even sadder, 'Alright' was one of the album's better tracks. The song was tapped as a German single:
- 1985's 'Alright' b/w 'Alright' (instrumental)
2.) More Than A Feeling (James Hopkins-Harrison - Achim Oppermann) - 4:26
A faceless AOR ballad, ''More Than A Feeling' had an okay chorus (though after hearing the phrase for the 500th time it started to outlast its welcome), but the rest of the tune was a complete waste that only served to underscore Hopkins Harrison's weird voice. Easy to picture this one having been comped on one of those John Hughes mid-1980s teen flicks. This one was also released as a German single:
- 1985's 'More Than a Feeling' b/w 'Nervous Breakdown'
3.) Comedy Of Love (J. Hopkins-Harrison - Thomas Bauer) - 3:44
Somewhere amidst the aural wreckage there was a good song embedded in 'Comedy Of Love'. As recorded for the album you were left with an amazingly bad mix of cheesy synthesizers, new wave angst, and Hopkins Harrison struggling to get through the song ... you were left to wonder if he was actually going to make it.
4.) Echo Of The Melody (James Hopkins-Harrison - Achim Oppermann) - 4:27
The ballad 'Echo Of The Melody' found guitarist Oppermann taking over lead vocals. Not sure why, but this one's always reminded me of a bad Hall and Oates tune.
5.) I Don't Wanna Lose You (J. Hopkins-Harrison - Thomas Bauer) - 3:44
'I Don't Wanna Lose You' was another faceless power ballad ... like Chinese food, two minutes after the song was over and you'd be hard pressed to remember anything about it.
(side 2)
1.) Nervous Breakdown (James Hopkins-Harrison - Achim Oppermann) - 3:12
Possibly the nadir of their catalog, the skitterish, new-wavy 'Nervous Breakdown' was clearly meant to capture the attention of a younger audience, but I suspect all it managed to do was piss off older fans. Personally I hate it ..
2.) Chase The Dragon (J. Hopkins-Harrison - Josef Kappl) - 3:53
Probably the album's most tuneful song, 'Chase the Dragon' was also the most disturbing in view of Hopkins Harrison's future death as a result of a heroin overdose.
3.) Who Do You Love (James Hopkins-Harrison - Achim Oppermann) - 4:46
More skitterish dance pop ... 'Who Do You Love' was another low point in their catalog.
4.) Love's a Game (James Hopkins-Harrison - Josef Kappl) - 3:34
While it was easily the album's most commercial number, 'Love's a Game' certainly wasn't anything to write home about. Still, it had a nice melody and for once the band didn't sound like they were trying too hard.
5.) Music's A Way Of Life (James Hopkins-Harrison - Achim Oppermann) - 4:43
I'm sure lots of folks will disagree, but to my ears 'Music's A Way Of Life' was simply hideous. Meant to be inspirational, the results were simply insipid - imagine one of those epic Michael Jackson songs that were meant to make you feel like you were a contributing part of mankind and you'll have a feel as to what to expect here.
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